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Iron Chef Optimization Challenge XV

Welcome, contestants, judges, and guests to Iron Chef XV. Here in Optimization Colosseum, contestants will endeavor to create an optimized and flavorful character using a specified D&D3.5 prestige class as a "Secret Ingredient".

Contestants: You will need to present your build at at least one of the following points: 5th level, 10th level, 15th, 20th, and a "sweet spot" that you feel is the high point of the build. Feel free to present as many of these as you like, and please give a rundown of the build's abilities and playability at all of the levels you didn't show. The rules are as follows:

Menu: For most challenges, the "special ingredient" will be drawn from Core plus Completes. There will, from time to time, be special challenges that showcase secret ingredients from other books--for example, the XPH.

32 point-buy is the presumed creation method, but we have generally allowed other levels of point-buy.
If you do use a different point-buy, please make your case for its necessity in your entry. Keep in mind that for using exceptionally large or small point-buys may warrant deductions in elegance and/or power.

Kitchen: Competitors will be free to use any official 3.5 rulebook in constructing their builds. Dragon magazine is disallowed, and Unearthed Arcana is allowed; but see Elegance below. Alternate rule systems from UA such as gestalt are not allowed, as they create a different playing field. Also, item familiars are forbidden because I hate 'em.

Cooking Time: Contestants will have until 11:59pm CUT on Monday, November 22th 2010 to create their builds and PM them to the Chairman, true_shinken. Builds will then be posted simultaneously, to avoid copying.

Judging: Judging will be based on the following criteria, with each build rated from 1 (very poor) to 5 (exemplary) in each area: Originality, Power, Elegance, Use of Secret Ingredient.

Power level is up to you. Cheese is acceptable, but should be kept to a sane level unless you're showcasing a new TO build you've discovered. In the words of one of my predecessors, a little cheddar can be nice, but avoid the mature Gruyere unless you're making a cheese fondue.

Elegance could bear a little elaboration. It basically measures how skillfully you put your build together, and whether you sacrificed flavor for power. We're cooking here - if your dish doesn't taste good, it doesn't matter how well-presented it is. Use of flaws is an automatic loss of one point per flaw in this category. Other things that will cause lost points here are excessive multiclassing, and classes that don't fit the concept - using Cloistered Cleric in a front-line melee fighter, for example, will lose you points.

I am going to have to ask the contestants to PM me about any disagreement with the judges. Under no circumstances is a contestant to defend themselves inside the thread, since it breaks anonymity.

Presentation: Builds will be posted anonymously, in order to avoid the potential of bias towards a particular competitor. For this reason, please don't put your name in the build, as I'm likely to miss it when reviewing the entries!

Due to concerns about standardizing entry format, I'd like everyone to try to use the following table for their entry.

Spoiler

Show

NAME OF ENTRY
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

Speculation: Please don't post or speculate on possible builds until the "reveal," in order to avoid spoiling the surprise if a particular competitor is producing a build along those lines.

Leadership is banned; we're producing a meal, not a seven-course banquet for a hundred diners.

So! Who wants to sign up as a contestant, and who wants to sign up as a judge? Looking for about 5 judges and as many contestants as feel like playing!

This week's special ingredient is:Complete Warrior's Drunken Master!
We will have trophies for 1st through 3rd places, as well as a special trophy for honorable mention. Judges, contestants and guests alike are invited to vote for honorable mention via PM.

Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge XV

I'm glad that OMG liked my trophies. Such a genki person, isn't he?
I hope you can get the gold this time, sweety. Good Luck!
I like the Drunken Master class because it reminds of Rock Lee from Naruto. I'll start my research to do the trophies so as to make it more original.

Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge XV

Originally Posted by Zergrusheddie

This is the first Monk-type Ingredient, isn't it? Ohh, I will love to see how this turns out.

Interestingly enough, while the class requires you to be a monk to enter (since I don't think there's any other way to get the "flurry of blows" ability), it doesn't advance any monk features, and all of its abilities work in armor. Also, unlike the last couple ingredients, it's actually not a terrible class; it can be used to get some real melee power. We could see some real wacky stuff in this one, I'm looking forward to it.
Criteria in the spoiler.

Spoiler

Show

I go with an overall "feel" and instinct than a point by point breakdown of scores. I am a bit more forgiving on build legality since as a DM I am not one of those guys who is going to check every single feat to make sure you meet the pre-reqs unless you're obviously abusing the game, and I understand that few games actually function in the "RAW Vacuum." However, do NOT take that as a free pass; I will be checking these to the best of my ability and I will dock points if there's a serious screw up.

Originality:
This is a fairly subjective category for me, and like elegance, it will be based on both concept and execution. If your character has a great, clever back story but is based around blase cookie-cutter mechanics, you will probably score in the 2-3 range. Good story with neat mechanics will earn a 4, especially if it's something mechanical I couldn't have thought of myself. Something reeeeaaalllly out there and unexpected will get you a 5, but be careful as you may take hits in other categories if it's too wacky.

Power:
I set a baseline of 3 for power based on what tier I expect most characters to fall into. For this contest, tier 4 will be 3 points, just like the last contest. Tier 3 performance will earn you 4 points. A few neat tricks and boosts to combat power will get you the half-point bump. Earning a 5 here will be based on how well you explain what the character can do, and if you have any real cool combos or tricks that impress me in the build.

Elegance
This one is my favorite category, and most builds make or break themselves here. What I'm looking for is whether A) I'd like to play the character and B) as a DM, would I allow the character. Back story also figures heavily here, because as nice as your mechanics may be, without an explanation they are really bland. I don't need you to justify every class level with story, or to shoehorn silly PrC fluff into your background, but it had better make sense conceptually as to why your character has the levels they have.

Mechanical things I don't like or wouldn't allow as a DM: Flaws, really obscure sources (this means books most people are unlikely to have access to - use common sense here), excessive dipping (some is ok, like the classic Sorcadin build dipping Spellsword, but if there's more than four slashes ["/"] in your class breakdown I'm going to look at it very closely). I won't give a numerical value because this IS still subjective; some builds can get away with a flaw or something if they really work well otherwise, others....can't.

Obviously a build being blatantly illegal or doing something really questionable that would probably earn a "NO" at most tables will make your score drop here, but as I mentioned at the start I will still be forgiving if I can see that you were trying to build around a good concept (probably earning a 1.5 or a 2).

Use of Secret Ingredient:
How well you do here depends heavily on how you did on the other 3 categories, and whether the PrC in question was key to that success. If your build couldn't have hit the power and elegance levels it did without using the secret ingredient, expect to do well. If you got a low originality score and plain 2 or 3 in the other two, you will still score low here even if you had all 10 levels of the PrC. My main rule here is yes, please use the PrC a lot, but use it well.

Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge XV

Originally Posted by Grynning

Interestingly enough, while the class requires you to be a monk to enter (since I don't think there's any other way to get the "flurry of blows" ability), it doesn't advance any monk features, and all of its abilities work in armor. Also, unlike the last couple ingredients, it's actually not a terrible class; it can be used to get some real melee power. We could see some real wacky stuff in this one, I'm looking forward to it.

Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge XV

Originally Posted by Grynning

since I don't think there's any other way to get the "flurry of blows" ability

There is.

Also, with Akal and OMGPonies competing, this will be veyr interesting. See, Akal won 3 times, OMG won twice. They might tie this time! Of course competition will be steep since we also have one time winners gbprime and Amphetryon on the mix!
This is going to be one explosive Iron Chef, I tell ya.

EDIT: Man, I just saw Jumilk's sketch for the trophy. Awesome does not describe it! It's way beyond awesome!

Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge XV

Originally Posted by true_shinken

There is.

Also, with Akal and OMGPonies competing, this will be veyr interesting. See, Akal won 3 times, OMG won twice. They might tie this time! Of course competition will be steep since we also have one time winners gbprime and Amphetryon on the mix!
This is going to be one explosive Iron Chef, I tell ya.

EDIT: Man, I just saw Jumilk's sketch for the trophy. Awesome does not describe it! It's way beyond awesome!

Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge XV

Wow, that many competitors!? Drunken Master sure seems to be popular.

Hmm...I'd think about being a judge, but I'd go with hiding my criteria. Mostly because I want people to surprise me, not please me. Also, it would make people think about interesting stuff without the worry of choosing one thing or another.

However, I'll probably be forced to unleash my criteria one way or another. I'd also be far too verbose as a judge, though that would allow a very stringent analysis of each build and how the fluff supports or bolsters the idea; look it at the full package. I find that, by looking at the judges' criteria, stuff gets lost: I don't recall Iron Chef (the actual Iron Chef TV programs, both in Japan and in America) judges ever reveal their criteria, other than "surprise me" and "this better taste good".

So...I'll let the organizers and the other judges decide whether I can be a mystery judge or if I'll be forced to show my criteria so that people attempt to "amuse" me. I'd rather see a risqué build, done with an idea in mind, rather than something to appease the competition. But then again, I'm not entirely free of guilt in trying to do that, so...

Retooler of D&D 3.5 (and 5e/Next) content. See here for more.
Now with a comprehensive guide for 3.5 Paladin players porting to Pathfinder. Also available for 5th EditionOn Lawful Good:

Originally Posted by firebrandtoluc

My friend is currently playing a paladin. It's way outside his normal zone. I told him to try to channel Santa Claus, Mr. Rogers, and Kermit the Frog. Until someone refuses to try to get off the naughty list. Then become Optimus Prime.

Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge XV

Originally Posted by Tvtyrant

Is the "Sword and Fist" version the same as the Complete Warrior one?

Nope. Even if it were, the CW version is the official version as it is the updated one. Recall that there may be some skills that changed, and some abilities that may have been nerfed a bit during the transition.

Retooler of D&D 3.5 (and 5e/Next) content. See here for more.
Now with a comprehensive guide for 3.5 Paladin players porting to Pathfinder. Also available for 5th EditionOn Lawful Good:

Originally Posted by firebrandtoluc

My friend is currently playing a paladin. It's way outside his normal zone. I told him to try to channel Santa Claus, Mr. Rogers, and Kermit the Frog. Until someone refuses to try to get off the naughty list. Then become Optimus Prime.